Henryk Mercik

Henryk Mercik serves as Lecturer at the Department of Design and Qualitative Research in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology. Concurrently, he holds the position of Municipal Conservator of Monuments at Rybnik City Hall (since September 2022), following similar roles at Chorzów City Hall (2008-2022 with 2015-2018 break) and Ruda Śląska City Hall (1996-2008). From 2015-2018, he served on the Silesian Voivodeship Board overseeing culture, environmental protection, and spatial planning, supervising 19 cultural institutions including the Silesian Museum in Katowice.

His research focuses on historical architecture of Upper Silesia, industrial urban layouts, and monument protection. He pioneered industrial heritage conservation through projects like the "Prezydent" shaft hoist tower revitalization and restoration of Upper Silesian modernist icons including the Chorzów skyscraper and Academic Secondary School Complex, featuring historic furniture preservation. His work established foundational approaches for industrial monument protection in the region.

Notable awards include:

• Silver Badge of the Association of Engineers and Technicians of the Metallurgical Industry
• Honorary Badge of the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland (First Class)
• Medal in honor of Professor Zygmunt Majerski from Silesian University of Technology
• Silesian Emerald award from the Katowice Diocese of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church

Mercik actively disseminates expertise through EU-funded initiatives, delivering lectures for the "Digital Campus of Science and Technology AGH UNESCO (DigiCamp)" project (2021-2022) to promote Polish culture and education. He contributed to "Design Silesia II" (2012) on urban conservation aspects and developed Chorzów's cultural navigation system (2011) for monument promotion, demonstrating sustained engagement with academic and public heritage discourse.